The Cheltenham Plan

Cheltenham conservation area review

We are currently in the process of reviewing the conservation areas. The conservation area reviews will form part of the development plan for the borough as a whole. As part of the ongoing review, draft documents will be put online for review by members of the public prior to a full public consultation at a later date. All draft documents will not come into force until after the formal consultation stage, and the Cheltenham Plan has been examined in public and is adopted. Any suggested boundary change will not take place until this time.

As part of the development of the Cheltenham Plan, a review of the current conservation area boundaries is being undertaken. This will produce an up to date character appraisal and management plan for each conservation area. This will involve conducting detailed surveys of each of the current conservation areas ensuring an accurate record of properties, boundary treatments, street furniture and key views, all of which play an important role in creating the character of conservation areas. It will also enable any extensions of conservation areas to be explored, possibly where the boundary has been drawn too tightly in the past.

It is important that these documents are updated on a regular basis, as development within conservation areas is often judged against the character outlined in the appraisals. Updating of the documents will help highlight what is significant about each conservation area ranging from the original burgage plots of the Lower High Street to the Regency villas of Pittville, each important in their own right but very different and distinct in terms of their respective character.

To date, the review has recommended the division of the central conservation area into separate conservation areas, largely based upon the current character areas. This can therefore help ensure effective management and aid understanding.